Destroy 15 tanks at once
The PBK-500U is a Russian multi-purpose cluster bomb, which is considered a weapon equivalent to the American AGM-154 JSOW missile. Each bomb is equipped with large lift and steer wings, allowing it to glide more than 30 km when dropped from high altitude.
Development of the PBK-500U “Drel” began in the 1990s, but it was not until 2016 that the bomb was tested. It has been suggested that the delayed development of the “Drel” is due to the delay in the application of the GLONASS navigation system.
PBK-500U version equipped with 15 SPBE-K anti-tank ammunition. Photo: TASS.
In addition to the satellite navigation system, this bomb also integrates an inertial navigation system. The maximum range of the PBK-500U “Drel” bomb is about 30-50 km, 3 times lower than the American AGM-154B anti-tank cluster bomb. However, the Russian bomb PBK-500U “Drel” has its own advantages.
The PBK-500U “Drel” is equipped with 15 self-guided combat components or SPBE-K small bombs capable of identifying targets.During the drop, each SPBE-K small bomb sweeps. The small bomb BLU-108 equipped with the American cluster bomb AGM-154B also works according to the same algorithm. The only thing is that it targets with an infrared channel.Also, Russia’s SPBE-K small bombs can identify their own and enemy’s troops, so they can be applied in tank battles. , when the tanks of the two sides are in close proximity to each other, the developers of the PBK-500U “Drel” said that one bomb “Drill” is capable of destroying 6 enemy tanks. It is possible that in the near future other types of directional bombs will be used and the range of these bombs will not be limited to tank battles.
Military expert Mikhail Khodarenok emphasized: “The main advantage of guided bombs is that they are much cheaper than laser-guided missiles, but they still have a standard range and the ability to destroy targets. high precision target. In addition, the affordable price makes guided bombs widely used.”
When detecting a target, SPBE-K will launch a 1 kg warhead at a speed of 3,000 m/s, capable of penetrating 100 mm thick steel armor. The direction of attack from above will be aimed at the roof of the vehicle, where the armor is thin and most easily punctured.
However, directional bombs still have a few shortcomings. Satellite navigation signals can be easily overpowered by electronic warfare. On the other hand, if the old guidance systems are replaced with improved ones, the price of a directional bomb will increase significantly. At that time, the advantage of directional bombs over guided missiles will no longer be. In addition, the operational range of modern air defense systems is increasing. Therefore, the optimal range for the application of directional bombs could be low- and medium-intensity conflicts with counterterrorism operations.
The world’s first German directional bomb Henschel Hs 293 with a range of 14km was used during World War II. In the post-war years, the development of guided bombs was mainly experimental. Directional bombs continued to grow strongly in the 1990s with the application of the Global Positioning System (GPS), allowing this type of bomb to accurately hit the target. Global Positioning System (GPS) is a positioning system based on the position of artificial satellites, designed, built, operated and managed by the US Department of Defense. At the same time, the coordinates of a point on the ground will be determined if the distance from that point to at least three satellites is determined. In recent years, the Pentagon’s arsenal has received several types of guided bombs. It is the GBU-39 bomb with a range of up to 110km and the AGM-154 JSOW capable of hitting targets within a range of 130km.
at Blogtuan.info – Source: danviet.vn – Read the original article here
